Continuum descriptions of cytoskeletal dynamics

Journal of Nanobiotechnology

Tutorial

Karsten Kruse¹ 

[1] Theoretische Physik, Universität des Saarlandes, Postfach 151150, 66041, Saarbrücken, Germany;

关键词: Continuity Equation;    Actin Filament;    Continuum Theory;    Filament Length;    Polar Filament;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1477-3155-11-S1-S5

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

This tutorial presents an introduction into continuum descriptions of cytoskeletal dynamics. In contrast to discrete models in which each molecule keeps its identity, such descriptions are given in terms of averaged quantities per unit volume like the number density of a certain molecule. Starting with a discrete description for the assembly dynamics of cytoskeletal filaments, we derive the continuity equation, which serves as the basis of many continuum theories. We illustrate the use of this approach with an investigation of spontaneous cytoskeletal polymerization waves. Such waves have by now been observed in various cell types and might help to orchestrate cytoskeletal dynamics during cell spreading and locomotion. Our analysis shows how processes at the scale of single molecules, namely, the nucleation of new filaments and filament treadmilling, can lead to the spontaneous appearance of coherent traveling waves on scales spanning many filament lengths. For readers less familiar with calculus, we include an informal introduction to the Taylor expansion.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Karsten; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.